


Something New

by aelingreywaren



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Clurphy brotp, Doctor Clarke, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Slow Burn, Teacher Bellamy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-04-30
Packaged: 2018-06-05 11:11:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6702373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aelingreywaren/pseuds/aelingreywaren
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke Griffin and Octavia Blake have been friends for years, but when her roommate kicks her out to move in with a new boyfriend, Clarke finds herself stranded. Next thing she knows she's forced to turn to the last person on Earth she'd ever imagine needing for help. Now she's got a new Blake for a roommate, and a life that just got a whole lot more complicated.</p>
<p>Multi Chapter fic I'm currently transferring over from FF.net so bear with me :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not So Same Old Routine

Clarke leaned forward, placing her half empty mojito on the bar, while trying not to choke on what she’d already swallowed. “Wait, what? You’re dating Lincoln? Since when?”

When Octavia had texted her this morning, asking if she was down for drinks tonight, Clarke had said yes immediately. Work had kicked her ass this week, and she knew if she didn’t go out tonight, she’d just end up collapsing into bed and laying there till Monday, binge-watching her life away. 

_Hell yes_ , she’d replied. _Any occasion?_

_You’ll just have to wait and see ;)_

By this point in their friendship, Clarke knew exactly what that meant. Anytime O asked her out to the movies, dinner, for drinks, out of the blue like that, it usually meant one thing. A guy. She’d usually spend the whole night gushing about whatever new beau she had wrapped around her finger, and at the end of the night they’d always happen to “coincidentally” pop by and introduce themselves to Clarke. It had become their routine, and Clarke would have gotten annoyed with it by now, if it wasn’t so damn entertaining. Plus, she wanted the drinks. 

Her and Octavia had known each other since college. They’d been thrown together as roommates in Freshman year, and despite their drastic differences in personality, and rough beginnings, the two had been best friends ever since. They’d even gone on to the same Med School, UW, that was until Octavia decided to drop out and open her own coffee shop right in the downtown core of Seattle. It was a bold move, one Clarke envied her for. It was something she never would have done, no matter how much she’d been tempted too. Her mother would have killed her, and Octavia’s brother’s wrath would have been nothing compared to the kind of rage Abby Griffin would have let loose. 

But in the end, it had all turned out for the best. Clarke had graduated and been lucky enough to score a residency spot right here in Seattle. The two had found an amazing apartment, steps away from the shop and only a short ride to the hospital. Even though she was exhausted and stressed out of her mind half the time, Clarke wouldn’t change a thing about her life. When things got to be too hard, and she felt herself sinking back into her dark place, she always had Octavia by her side. Always there to lift her back up again. 

O had always been the more free spirited one between the two of them, always open to whatever life threw at her. Clarke was the opposite. Her life was all about plans, and whenever those plans were thrown off balance, Octavia was always the one to keep her from losing her mind. She was also definitely the more... “wild” one as their friends would say. Clarke knew her college experience would have undoubtedly been a whole lot more boring if it hadn’t been for O dragging her ass out from the library, and sneaking them into off campus clubs. Even though they weren’t in college anymore, that part of their dynamic still hadn’t changed. Octavia was the one constantly dating up a storm, while Clarke was on the sidelines, choosing the safe route like she’d always done. 

At this point, it was safe to say that Octavia had a certain “type” of guy she was drawn to. The loose canons, the tortured musicians, the wild ones… intense, just like her. So Clarke was never surprised when after a week, two weeks, sometimes more, Octavia would brush them off, get bored, and move on to the next one. But Lincoln… this was never something that Clarke would have ever seen coming. 

Octavia was beaming back at her, gripping Clarke’s forearm so hard that she was scared she’d leave marks. 

“It’s been two months! Clarke, he’s amazing, you have no idea, he’s unlike anybody I’ve ever met.” 

Clarke had been able to figure that much out for herself. Lincoln was the exact opposite of the guys that Octavia had typically gone for. Not in terms of physical attractiveness of course, the guy was practically a model, there was no denying that. But he was just so much more …grounded, and level headed than the guys she’d see O with in the past. He was an army vet, he’d served for 4 years, before retiring after permanently injuring his hand on a mission. Clarke didn’t know much about that, but she did know that now he worked as a guidance counsellor and coach at a local high school, and spent his free time working with under privileged kids. He was a good guy all around, and she knew he’d probably be good for O. Even though she wouldn’t have seen it coming, she was happy for her, but it wasn’t her happiness Clarke was worrying about right now. 

“That’s great O, really, I bet he is, but…” 

Octavia released her grip from her hand, crossing her arms defensively. 

“But what?”

Clarke didn’t even want to ask.

“Does Bellamy know?”

Octavia’s smile disappeared from her face, and she started to chew her bottom lip guiltily. Clarke scolded her friend, “Octavia! You’re dating his roommate! He’s going to find out eventually, and you know how Bellamy’s going to react.”

“I know, I know, it’s awful, but I had to tell you first.” 

Clarke picked her mojito back up, taking a few long refreshing sips. The alcohol would help her process, or at least that’s what she told herself. She felt the warmth spreading through her, and she was suddenly finding it hard to stay concerned any longer. 

“Two months huh?”, she said grinning. “I’m actually kind of impressed. How did you even manage to keep it a secret for that long.”

Octavia smiled back mischievously, “We were sneaky. And may have taken advantage of all those long hours at work you’ve been having lately.” She winked, and took a sip of her own drink. 

“God, O, I didn’t need to know that.” Octavia had never really understood the concept of boundaries when it came to sharing. 

She simply raised her shoulders, “You’re the one who asked, Griffin.” 

Clarke let out a laugh, “And don’t I regret it.” 

“No you don’t. Don’t forget, I was the one who you spilled all your dirty little secrets to when you started dating Finn. And before him, Jason, and Lexa, and who was that guy from Freshmen year?”

Clarke let out a groan at the memory, and they both yelled out at the same time, “Wallace!” 

She couldn’t stop the laughs now, and tears were coming out of her eyes, “Oh god, don’t remind me.” 

“You’ve seriously had a questionable dating past.” 

Clarke hit her on the arm playfully, “Hey. Don’t even get me started on your exes. I could say the exact same thing about you.”

Octavia shrugged nonchalantly again, “Can’t argue with that. Remember Dax…”

The two reminisced for a while longer, ordering two more rounds of drinks, crying and laughing over some of the more tragic chapters of their dating pasts. Clarke’s was slightly more on the dramatic break up side. She’d only had two serious boyfriends before she’d met Finn, and both of those had ended pretty damn badly. And then there had been Wallace.. Clarke even cringed at the thought. Biggest mistake of her life. Octavia on the other hand had a wealth of ridiculous hook up and dating stories, and Clarke found herself snorting at all the nightmare worthy first dates she’d remembered her best friend going on in college. But after a while, she steered the conversation back to Lincoln. 

“So, when are you planning on telling Bellamy that he’s living with the guy who’s banging his sister.” 

Octavia put her head in her hands and let out a groan, “God don’t say it like that. I was actually planning on telling him right after this. Man, he’s going to be pissed isn’t he?” 

Pissed was probably putting it lightly. Bellamy took over protective brother to a whole new level. 

“Probably, but better to get it over with sooner than later. Besides, it’s not like you’re getting married or anything. He’s dealt with you having boyfriends in the past, and let’s not forget the fact that you’re not sixteen anymore. You’re both adults, you can handle this like ones.”

Octavia smiled grimly, “Well… actually…”

Clarke felt her eyes bulge out in surprise, “Oh my god O, don’t tell me you’re marrying him.”

Octavia shook her head violently, “God no, of course not. But… there is something else.”

Clarke was confused now, and she raised her eyebrows to show it. The alcohol she’d had was definitely doing the opposite of helping her process this better.

“O, what’s going on? What is it?”

Octavia took in a deep breath, and with her next words, Clarke almost fell right off of her chair.

“We’re moving in together.”


	2. The Mystery Girl

The second Bellamy Blake stepped into his apartment, he threw his keys and laptop bag onto the counter, grabbed a cold beer from the fridge, and collapsed onto the couch in complete exhaustion. God, there was nothing he hated more than parent - teacher interviews. The semester had barely started, and he was already being bombarded by concerned parents panicking over whether or not their kids were going to fail AP history and how that would affect their chances of getting into the Ivys. He’d only given one quiz so far, and it had just been a diagnostic - a chance see what level of background these kids were working with. He had to admit the results weren’t ideal, but it was nothing he couldn’t handle, and he knew the kids would get the hang of it once they got some help. But apparently the sea of 50s and 60s had sent them running to the parents, and now he had to deal with the aftermath. 

He took another swig of beer, and rubbed his temples trying to ease the massive headache he felt coming on. He flicked on the TV to try and take his mind off things. He’d never been one for sports so he settled on some mindless medical drama to have playing in the background, but before he could help himself, he was on the edge of his seat, shouting at the characters on the screen. 

He was interrupted mid infuriated rant, when he heard the door open and a second set of keys land on the counter. 

“Hey man, you still alive?” he heard Lincoln call from kitchen. 

Bellamy groaned in response, both out of exhaustion and out of annoyance that Lincoln was interrupting his show. Things were just getting good damnit. 

He heard the clinking of bottles echo through the apartment as Lincoln grabbed his own beer and sunk down onto the recliner opposite him, resting his long legs on the coffee table. 

“What the hell Bellamy, you’re watching this shit again?”

Ok, so maybe the show was a bit more than just background noise. Maybe he had binged watched all 10 season on Netflix and now waited to watch it every week in agony. Maybe it was an obsession. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to admit it. 

“No, it just flipped to this I swear, I’m just too tired to change it.”

Lincoln scoffed, “And last week? And the week before, and - ”

Bellamy took another chug of beer and waved it at him, “Shut up. O’s forcing me to watch it obviously, you know how she gets about these things.”  
Lincoln let out a laugh, shaking his head and taking a drink of his own beer, “That I do. That I do.”

Bellamy raised his eyebrow in question. He’d been picking up on these comments more on more over the past couple of weeks and he didn’t know what to make of them. Lincoln had always been a stand up guy, he was even seeing someone now, but if the guy was starting to get ideas about Bellamy’s sister.. well then suffice it to say the two of them were going to have a problem. But he was too tired to press him any further now and decided to switch the topic.

“What the hell are you doing back so early anyways. I thought you had another date with the mystery girl.” 

“We did, but plans got moved around a bit. She’s actually coming over here instead, and hey now you can get a chance to meet her.” 

Well this was new. Bellamy had figured Lincoln was seeing someone from all the recent late nights out. Then there was also the fact that he’d been hitting the gym five times a week, which Bellamy knew was something he only did when he was trying to impress a girl. After living together for just over a year you started to pick up on these kinds of things. 

The two had met at the faculty orientation last August. Bellamy’s life, suffice it to say, had been a mess. He’d been kicked out of his last apartment, courtesy of his fugitive ex-roommate burning it down in a freak “accident”, and was forced to crash at his sister’s place, all while starting a new job. He’d walked into orientation already stressed beyond belief, and the fact that he was the only new hire for the year, was definitely not helping things whatsoever. He was by far the youngest and most inexperienced there, and it had felt like every step he took was being scrutinized and judged - the senior staff members all waiting for him to fall. 

In hindsight, he understood their apprehension. Bellamy certainly didn’t look like someone fit to be teaching at the top prep school in Seattle. He’d never grown up like one of these kids, and even as an adult, walking down the arched halls never ceased to make him feel like an outsider. He would always have double to prove, but that only fuelled him more, and he spent the rest of that year carving out his place there, letting them all know that he too, belonged. 

Lincoln had by far been the person he could most relate to most that day. Bellamy had been standing awkwardly by the snack table, fiddling around with some ridiculously small sandwiches, when a huge mass of a man walked up to him. His first thought was that he was security, but it turned out he was the guidance counsellor, and like a typical person in his profession, he’d immediately started offering Bellamy some unsolicited advice about how to survive his first few weeks at Seattle Prep. Apparently Bellamy wasn’t the only one, who hadn’t received the warmest welcome. 

Details aside, the two had ended up moving in together. Lincoln wanted someplace bigger and Bellamy didn’t care, as long as he could get off his sister’s couch. They’d ended up finding a place close by to Octavia, right downtown, and the living arrangement had worked out ever since. Bellamy wouldn’t say they were best friends or anything like that. To be perfectly honest the closest person in his life had always been Octavia, but Lincoln was definitely the best roommate. He was clean, always remembered the important things (the beer), but most conveniently he was private, just like himself. They’d brought girls back to the apartment before, but there had never been the pressure of introductions, or the awkward “meet my room ate” over pancakes kind of brunch. Their private lives were just that, private. But apparently that no longer applied to the mystery girl. 

“What brought this about?”, Bellamy asked.

Lincoln started to shift uncomfortably in his seat, and all of a sudden seemed to be extremely interested in his phone, turning it on and off like he was waiting for something. 

“I just think you two should meet, you know?”

Bellamy shrugged, “Ok, whatever, fine by me.” Maybe this girl was just extra hot and Lincoln wanted to show her off. 

Lincoln set down his beer and reached for the remote, and to Bellamy’s dismay, lowered the volume of the TV. His demeanour had all of a sudden become more serious, something that led Bellamy to believe this wasn’t just some fleeting thing. 

“I’m just really serious about this girl Bellamy, this really feels like the real thing.”

Ok, now things were getting weird. The deepest conversation the two of them had ever had about a girl had been about the 60 year old feisty librarian, Mrs. Thornberry - and even that conversation wasn’t something Bellamy really wanted to repeat. Although that woman did have insane legs for her age. He shook his head to clear his mind from the memory. 

“Uhh.. That’s great man? I’m really happy for you? Do I… uh.. do I need to get changed or something, are we trying to impress her?”

He cringed at how pathetic he sounded, but he was starting to get annoyed. All he’d wanted to do was come home, drink a beer, and watch some Grey’s Anatomy damn it. This was not how he’d envisioned the night going. 

Lincoln laughed nervously, “Nah, you’re good. I’ve told her all about you, she knows what to expect.”

Bellamy raised an eyebrow, “She knows all about me and yet she’s still with you? Clearly you haven’t been describing my charm with justice.” He’d just been trying to lighten the mood. It was a terrible joke, Bellamy knew that, but the way all the colour seemed to drain from Lincoln’s face, you’d think Bellamy had just told him he killed someone. 

“Ok… bad joke.” he raised his hands in defense. 

_“Awful_ joke.” Lincoln replied, shaking his head and whispering to himself again, _“awful joke.”_

Bellamy decided he was clearly going to need some more alcohol to get through this, and stood up to walk back to the kitchen to grab himself another beer.

“You want another?” he called. 

“Oh yeah”, Lincoln responded, and Bellamy thought he heard him mutter something else, along the lines of ‘I’ll need it’ under his breath. 

His head was in the fridge as he leaned down to grab two more bottles, when he was startled by a knock on the door. He jumped, smashing his head into the top of the refrigerator, and letting out a trail of obscenities. 

“I’ll get it”, Lincoln called, running to open the door. 

Bellamy was still rubbing his head when he heard, two distinct female voices, their shouts coming from the doorway. He barely had time to put the bottles down, before a body smashed into him. 

“Hey big brother!” 

Bellamy let out a groan, hugging his sister tight, before pushing her away. “Jesus, O, what the hell? You almost gave me a fucking heart attack.” But his anger quickly faded, he couldn’t stay mad at her for long, not when she gave him that ridiculous smile. He gave her another hug, one armed this time, and patted her head. It was only then that he registered that Octavia hadn’t come alone, and a blonde was standing in the opening of the kitchen, her back to him, talking to Lincoln. It took him a few seconds before he realized that the girl was obviously Clarke Griffin, of course it was, who else would let Octavia drag them out here. Bellamy shook his head, catching himself staring, before calling out “Hello to you too, Princess.” 

Clarke turned and let out what sounded like a snarl, and Bellamy chuckled to himself. 

Octavia pulled away and smacked him on the arm.

“You know she hates that Bellamy.” 

Bellamy just shrugged. He focused his gaze back to his sister, and quickly registered that she was struggling to stay balanced, and her words were starting to slur. He steeled his gaze, frowning down at her. 

“I’m guessing someone’s had a few?” he said, crossing his arms. 

“You’re one to talk.”, Octavia spat back at him, gesturing to the beers on the counter. 

Bellamy let out a sigh, dealing with his sister never seemed to get any easier. 

“What are you doing here O? Not that I mind the stopping by, but apparently Lincoln and I have plans tonight. His girlfriend’s coming over… when was she supposed to get here again?”

He thought he saw Clarke face palm in the background, and Lincoln looked like he wanted to pass out. 

Octavia started to step back from him slowly, “Actually Bell… that’s what I came around for.”

“Oh, Lord help us,” Clarke muttered into her palm.

None of this was making any sense, and Bellamy was about to state that when Octavia finally stopped right beside Lincoln, her hand snaking around her waist. Bellamy’s eyes widened, and his heart jumped. 

What. The. Fuck.


	3. Miscommunications

Bellamy took a stepped forward, and Lincoln immediately put his hands out in front of his chest, taking a defensive stance.

“Now uhh Bellamy, don’t overreact”

Bellamy couldn’t fucking believe this. His sister? Out of all the women in Seattle, Lincoln had to go ahead and date his sister!

“Overreact? _Overreact_?”

Clarke leaned forward and whispered rather loudly into Octavia’s ear, “I think he’s going to overreact” Bellamy shot her a glare and she immediately shut her mouth.

“Yeah ok, I want no part in this” she declared and he saw her hobble past him into the kitchen.

Bellamy refocused his sights on Lincoln.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing with my sister?”

Octavia stepped in front, blocking Bellamy’s access to Lincoln.

“What he thinks is that he’s dating me. Look Bellamy, this isn’t Lincoln’s fault.. I’m the one who told him not to tell you.”

Bellamy tried to push past her, “That doesn’t matter, he shouldn’t have fucking gone after you in the first place.”

Octavia shoved against his chest, and proceeded to cross her arms and scoff, “Oh please big brother, give me some credit here. I’m the one who went after him, not the other way around.”

Bellamy groaned and rubbed his eyes with his palms. God his head hurt. All he’d wanted to do was come home tonight and get some peace and quiet. Now he had to deal with a roommate who was dating his sister, and of course, once again, he was the one looking like the bad guy in all this. This was the way it had always been, ever since O had been in high school. All he’d wanted to do was protect her from the assholes that were trying to take advantage of her. And yet every time he’d tried to stop her from seeing them, all for her own good, she’d ended up hating him. He could never win, so eventually she’d just stopped telling him about any of the men in her life. He suppose that was for the best, but this. How the hell was he supposed to ignore this? It was his roommate for crying out loud!

“Get out of my way, Octavia.”

She glared at him, “Bellamy, I’m not a kid anymore. You can’t just go around beating up every guy I try to date.”

He let out a sigh, “Are you through?”

“Are you going to promise not to beat my boyfriend to a pulp?”

Lincoln let out a nervous laugh, “Please, like he could take me.”

Bellamy raised a brow and narrowed his eyes, “You really want to test that out Linc? I wouldn’t want Doc over there to have to fix up any broken bones tonight.”

“NO part in this!” Clarke yelled from the kitchen.

He was satisfied to see some fear in the guys eyes. Lincoln may have been the beefier of the two, but Bellamy had done more than his share of roughing people up in his day. Intimidation had been his forte, and he was glad to see he still got it.

“Bellamy…”, Octavia warned.

“Alright, alright, relax O, I’m not going to hurt him. Lincoln and I are just going to have a little chat.”

Lincoln nodded, “It’s fine, Octavia really.”

Octavia stepped back hesitantly, “I’m trusting you two, remember, we’re all adults here. Clarke and I will be in the kitchen…”

She walked past him slowly, and Bellamy was left alone with Lincoln.

They moved out from the hall and back into the living room area, Lincoln leaning against the back of the couch and Bellamy standing straight.

“Want to start explaining what the fuck is going on?”

Lincoln bowed his head, “Look Bellamy, I really am sorry. I wanted to tell you, but Octavia… she said you probably wouldn’t react in the best way.”

Bellamy muttered under his breath, “That’s ridiculous.”

“Seriously? I thought you were going to kill me for a second.”

Bellamy shrugged, “I considered it.”

Lincoln’s expression turned more serious, “Look, I feel awful about lying to you, but I don’t want you to think that I’m just some other guy who’s using her ok? I wasn’t kidding earlier when I said I think your sister is the real thing, I care about her…”

Lincoln averted his gaze, staring towards the direction of the kitchen, where Bellamy could just make out the voices of Clarke and Octavia whispering away.

“I care about her a lot.”

Even though he was still royally pissed that they’d been hiding this from him, he had to admit, maybe he was overreacting just a little bit. Besides, he was pretty sure O could do worse. At least Lincoln had a job, and so far as Bellamy could tell, wasn’t insane. Maybe this could actually turn out to be a good thing… besides, if Octavia was dating his roommate, at least he could keep an eye on him. That way if he tried to pull anything over his sister, well, he certainly wouldn’t be getting away with that.

Bellamy sighed, “I’m not saying I’m ok with this, because good guy or not, I’m still pissed that you two went behind my back.”

Lincoln nodded, “I respect that.”

“But.. I’m not going to try to mess with whatever the hell it is you two have going on. As long as my sister’s happy, well, I can live with this. So if your worried about me trying to break you two up, or break your bones.. you don’t have to be.”

Lincoln laughed, “Thanks man, appreciate it. You know, especially the not killing me part.”

Bellamy steeled his glare, “Let me be clear though, if you ever do anything to hurt my sister, you and I are going to have a problem, a big one.”

Lincoln looked at him earnestly, “You don’t have to worry about that Bellamy, not ever. I would never do anything to hurt her.”

Somehow, a part of Bellamy reluctantly believed him. “Good. I’m still annoyed with you two though, I guess you’ll just have to give me a few days to get used to this.”

Lincoln smiled grimly, “Uh, before you get too used to things… there’s probably something else you should know.”

Bellamy’s thoughts immediately flashed to pregnancy, and he was just about to take back everything he’d said about not punching him, when Lincoln continued, “We’re uhh, we’re actually moving in together.”

Bellamy just couldn’t catch a fucking break.

“Octavia!”

* * *

 

“Well that could have gone worse”, Octavia said as she leaned against the fridge, facing Clarke who was perched atop the counter, enjoying a bag of chips she’d found in the pantry. Normally she would be opposed to snooping, but she was still fuzzy from all the drinks, and her stomach trumped manners. Clarke had retreated to the kitchen, not wanting to get involved in the Blake family drama.

“To be honest I’m surprised your brother didn’t get in a punch.”

Even though Clarke had known Octavia for years now, and all of them lived in the same city, her interactions with her friend’s older brother had been limited. The two never really went out of their way to spend much time together, the only times Clarke came over to the apartment being when Octavia dragged her there. It was fair to say that her and Bellamy had never really clicked. And by never really clicked, Clarke meant, that he was an ass. Ever since freshman year of college he’d gotten the idea that she was some spoiled rich Princess, and that stereotype had stuck. She’d had a crush on him for about five seconds, the first time she’d seen him, but that had stopped the second he’d opened his mouth and made some rude comment. One she still remembered to this day. Nonetheless, the two had butted heads ever since. The only time she had to tolerate his presence was when Octavia was around. To Clarke she’d only ever seen him as stubborn and annoying, and clearly overprotective of his younger sister, and tonight’s events were just another example of that.

Octavia laughed, “Not going to lie, I was worried there for a second.”

She stepped away from the fridge to come and stand next to Clarke. She leaned over the counter trying to peak into the living room where Bellamy and Lincoln were talking, out of sight.

“Damn, I wish we could hear what they were saying.”

Clarke reached into the bag and pulled out another chip, then passed it over to Octavia.

“Relax, have some chips.”

Octavia grabbed a handful and munched on them anxiously, leaning her head on Clarke’s shoulder anxiously.

Clarke rested her chin on Octavia’s head reassuringly, “O, he’s probably just giving Lincoln the typical big brother shake down. The whole “hurt my sister and I hurt you” schpeel.”

“I guess you’re right.”

Clarke yawned sleepily, “I always am. Unless… do you think Lincoln would tell him about moving in?”

At that moment, they heard Bellamy scream out from the living room. Octavia jumped, jerking her head violently and crashing it right into Clarke’s nose. Clarke’s head snapped back and she felt a blinding pain in the center of her face, a warm trickle of blood trailing down from her nose.

“Shit, oh my god Clarke, shit I’m so sorry. Fuck.”

Clarke could hear Octavia shuffle some things around the counter until she grabbed a towel. She ran it under some cold water and gave it to Clarke, “Here, put this on it, oh my god I’m so sorry.”

Clarke took the damp towel and pressed it to her nose and groaned. She felt like her whole face was throbbing, and her vision started to go spotty.

“Here, come on, let’s go sit you down on the couch.”

Octavia wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her off the counter. They were just about to leave the kitchen when Bellamy stormed in, “Octavi - wow, what the hell happened in here?”

Clarke snapped at him, “Exactly what it looks like.”

Though it was blurry, Clarke saw him reach up a hand and scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

“Bell, can you grab some ice and wrap it up in some paper towel or something?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”

Octavia walked Clarke to the couch, and even the motion of sinking down into the leather cushions made her head go dizzy all over again. Bellamy was back in a few seconds, ice in hand.  
“Thanks”, Clarke said - her voice muffled by the towel that was already covering half her face. She removed it, and replaced it with the one that Bellamy had brought her. God, she probably looked like such an idiot.

She saw him nod, and turn his gaze back to Octavia and Lincoln, who were standing side by side, next to the couch.

“So, you’re moving in together? How exactly is that going to work? Are we going to be roommates again little sis?”

Clarke heard Lincoln choke, and Octavia spoke up, “ _God no_ , of course not, don’t be ridiculous.”

Now that Bellamy mentioned it, Clarke was curious as to how exactly this whole living situation would work out. She hadn’t really had much time to ask Octavia about it at the bar, they’d been a little bit pre-occupied picking her up off the floor. Her ass still hurt from the fall. She just assumed that Lincoln would move in with them, it wasn’t the ideal situation, but what other options were there?

She piped up, trying to speak as clearly as she could, “Yeah, O, what is going to happen? Is Lincoln just going to move in with us?”

“What?”, she heard Lincoln question, “No that’s not the plan. Octavia, I thought you told her?”

Bellamy let out a sigh of frustration, “Clearly neither of us have been told anything so please, enlighten us, what exactly is the ‘plan’”. Clarke couldn’t decide if that was a good enough excuse to use air quotes.

Clarke turned to face Octavia, her friend was standing awkwardly, her hands fiddling behind her back - something Clarke knew she only did when she was nervous.

“O?” Clarke asked softly.

She saw Lincoln reached behind Octavia’s back, and clutch her hand. Clarke smiled on the inside, seeing how her friend immediately seemed to relax under his touch. She had to admit, when Octavia had first told her about Lincoln she’d been skeptical. But now, it was becoming easier and easier to picture.

“Clarke, I was going to tell you, I just didn’t know how to… but, Lincoln and I found a new apartment together, I’m sorry. ”

Well this was unexpected. Clarke shook her head in confusion. Bellamy was the first to speak, “Wait, what? You’re moving out? When?”

Octavia bit her lower lip, guilt splaying across her features. “A week.”

Clarke and Bellamy yelled out, this time in unison, “ _A week?_ ”


	4. An Idea

Clarke felt numb. And that wasn’t just from the ice on her face. She felt her mind going a thousand miles a minute trying to process everything all at once. She was happy for Octavia, of course she was, but in one night she’d not only found out that her best friend was seeing someone new, but that she was moving out too. Clarke and Octavia had lived together for the past 8 years, and the thought of that changing, and so soon, made her stomach drop. She’d known it would have happened eventually, but not within a week!

She sat there dumbfounded, holding the towel to her face. To be honest, she was actually glad it was there - it gave her something to mask the shock. Clarke breathed an internal sigh of relief when Bellamy was the one to break the silence.

“Lincoln, what the hell? I can’t afford this place on my own!”

He verbalized the same worry that she was feeling right now too and in that moment Clarke suddenly became painfully aware of what this would mean for her, not just in an emotional sense, but a logistic one.

The apartment they were living in didn’t come cheap by any standards, and they’d been lucky enough to score it at a fraction of the price. The owner of the building had been one of Clarke’s mother’s patients from over a decade ago. She didn’t know the extent of Carol’s relationship with her mother, but Clarke knew that the woman owed her her life. The two still talked, and emailed, and were apparently still close enough that when Carol had found out that Clarke was in fact the Clarke, Dr. Abby Griffin’s daughter, she had insisted they take the place and had gone to unprecedented lengths to make sure they were able to.

But even with Carol’s generosity, rent was still a squeeze, every month. Even Octavia didn’t know how bad things got some times because as far as her best friend was concerned, Clarke was still living off of her inheritance. Clarke may have shared her mother’s name and occupation, but that was all. The two hadn’t spoken directly in three years, and she’d stopped accepting money from her family a long time ago. She was tired of going through life on the back of their money and their influence, she was doing this on her own terms. She’d worked two jobs while putting herself through medical school, and by the looks of it, she’d still spend the next good half of her life trying to pay off those loans, but it was worth it. Her independence would always be worth it.

Octavia walked closer to the couch and leaned towards her, “Hey, I’m so sorry, I really didn’t want to tell you like this.”

Clarke could hear Lincoln and Bellamy talking harshly in the background. For once in her life she knew exactly what kind of anxiety Bellamy Blake was going through. Octavia must have sensed her spacing out because she came over to the side and sat next to her on the couch and squeezed her shoulder. Clarke tried to say something, but it ended up coming out like muffled nonsense.

“Uhhh, you’re going to have to repeat that for me babe.”

Clarke removed the ice towel from her face, and was relieved at the fact that she’d finally stopped bleeding.

She tried to nod as reassuringly as she could, but even Clarke knew she couldn’t pull off a convincing performance, she’d never been good at concealing her emotions. “I said it’s ok, really. I know how badly you want this. I just.. I’m going to miss you O.” She felt a lump well up in her throat, and she choked back the sobs that were threatening to come out of her.

Octavia scooted closer and wrapped her in her arms.

“I’m going to miss you too Griffin”, she whispered, resting her chin on top of Clarke’s head. They stayed like that for a moment longer, before Octavia pulled away. Clarke thought she could see wetness on her friends cheeks, but that was wiped away quickly.

“Besides, it’s not like I’m going far. Our place is literally just a few blocks away, it’s got a great view and…

They were interrupted by another outburst from Bellamy, who was gesturing violently at Lincoln. “Well what am I going to do about rent next week? It’s not like I can find a roommate in a day Linc!”

Octavia’s excited expression quickly morphed into a look of guilt. “Oh shit, oh my god. I’m such an asshole, oh my god Clarke I didn’t even think about what me moving out would mean for you. I guess I’ve just been so carried away with Lincoln… you’re going to be ok with rent right?”

Clarke’s stomach twisted into knots. Their lease was going to be up in 10 days - the two hadn’t even talked about renewing it yet. Clarke had just assumed it’d be a sure thing, but now with O leaving… there was no way she could afford to live there on her own. And she definitely wasn’t going to ask Carol, or even worse, her mother for any favours. No, her only option was going to be to move out.

She hadn’t even noticed that Bellamy and Lincoln had moved closer to them, and of course the older Blake couldn’t stop himself from piping up at that last remark.

Bellamy scoffed and rolled his eyes heavenward, “Of course the _Princess_ is going to be ok.”

Clarke felt any anxiety she was feeling transform into anger. Who the hell did he think he was? She worked just as hard for her money as he did, but of course he still saw her as the spoiled little girl he’d met years ago. She’d taken it for too long, and maybe it was the stress or maybe it was the pounding in her head, but Clarke had finally had enough.

“If you have something to say to me, just say it.”

“Guys…”, Octavia begged.

Bellamy crossed his arms, “All I’m saying is that for some people, this new living arrangement is more than just an inconvenience. Not all of us have a trust fund we can fall back on when things get tough.”

“Bellamy,” Octavia warned, “Leave her alone.”

Clarke ignored her and stood up, stalking over to where Bellamy was standing. “Not that it’s any of your business”, she said, taking a step closer, “but I’m in the exact same fucking boat as you. If I don’t find someone new to live with in the next week, I’m going to be homeless too, so you can keep your judgmental, “holier than thou” comments to yourself.”

They were only about an arms width apart at this point, but Bellamy betrayed no signs of backing down, or discomfort. He simply looked down at her with a testing smirk, “What, you get yourself cut off or something Princess?”

“Something”, she snapped back.

Clarke met him, stare for stare. She thought back to the events that had led her to excising herself from her family, her mother, so drastically. The memory brought a stabbing pain to her chest, but she quashed it down. She’d become a master at suppressing that dark shadow that tainted her past. Octavia knew that Clarke and her mother had a strained relationship, but Clarke had spared her the details. It was just easier for everyone else to think that the issues that ran within the Griffin family were typical upper class family drama. And despite the ways people, and not just Bellamy Blake, treated her as an entitled “Princess”, it was still easier than having them know the truth.

She became painfully aware at how close they were standing, one of them, or maybe both, had shifted even closer so that now Clarke’s nose was just inches away from his chest.

Octavia got up, and came to stand beside Clarke, forcing her to rip her gaze away her brother.

“Clarke, I didn’t know things were, I guess I just didn’t think things would be so bad for you. Look, if you need help, I’ll pay for my half of the lease. I’m the one who caused this entire mess.”

Clarke shook her head, “I’m not going to let you do that O, ok, it’s done. I’ll either just find a new roommate or find a new place.”

Bellamy scoffed, again, Clarke was starting to think that was a trend. “Good luck finding a roommate, or at least one who isn’t a wack job, this soon. Sorry to break it to you, but we’re basically fucked.”

Clarke grimaced, she knew he had a point. Clarke didn’t even know how people went about finding roommates anymore. She knew there was practically no one she could turn to at the hospital, everyone’s living arrangements were already solid - there’d even been an orientation night for residents new to the city, looking for places to live, but that had been months ago.

She plopped back down to the couch, and groaned, rubbing a hand against her head which was still ringing from the impact with Octavia. She looked to the clock hanging on the wall above the TV, and was annoyed to see that it was already past midnight. She was tired, her head and ass hurt, and at this point all she wanted to do was get out of this stupid apartment and go to bed. She wanted to pretend like this entire night had never happened. The only bright side was, that at least there was no possible way for things to get worse.

“Well you know… I think I might have an idea how to fix this problem”, Clarke slowly shot her head up and looked at Lincoln.

“Oh really, what’s that?” Bellamy retorted, “Is it not moving in with my sister?”

“God Bellamy, _shut up_.” Octavia said. Clarke could tell that even Octavia was getting exhausted, her friend always got grouchy when the night started to get the best of her. But on the other hand, that testiness could just be coming from too much time with Bellamy.

“Funny”, Lincoln said, “Real funny... but no. I was thinking, you need a roommate, and Clarke needs a roommate, so…

Oh god. She could tell where this was going. _‘Don’t say it’_ she thought, Please Lincoln do not say it.

“Why don’t you two just move in together?”

For the first time all night, it seemed as if Bellamy had nothing to say. Clarke had been wrong before, things could definitely get worse.

She was the one to break the silence this time, “You’re kidding right? Please tell me you’re kidding.”

  
Octavia piped in hesitantly, “Well… actually… It’s not that bad of an idea Clarke. Bellamy’s place is only a few blocks from where we are now, so you’d still be close to the hospital, and close to Lincoln and I. Besides it could just be temporary.”

Lincoln continued for her, “Yeah, and you’re both workaholics too, so it’s not like you’d have to see each other much, which I’m guessing is a plus.”

Not seeing him at all would be a plus. Not having to leave her apartment would be a plus. Having to live with Bellamy Blake, even if temporarily, that was not her idea of a plus.

“Enough!” Bellamy cried out, “Could you please stop talking like this is something that is actually happening? I mean, there’s absolutely no way this is happening.”

He was right. There was absolutely no way this was happening. Bellamy Blake was the last person on the planet she would turn to for help, she’d find a way out of this. A way that didn’t involve him.

Clarke got up from the couch, and stalked back over to the counter, to grab her purse that she’d thrown on there earlier. Her head was spinning, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was get out of here.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Bellamy called out after her.

Clarke spun back around and threw her hands up in exasperation, “To measure out space for where I’m going to put my doilies and flower arrangements up in your kitchen, where do you think I’m going asshole?”

She heard Lincoln unsuccessfully try to stifle a snort.

“Clarke,” Octavia called out to her, “Are you ok?”

No. She definitely was not ok.

“I’m fine O, but it’s late. I’m tired, and I’ve had enough of this for one night. I’ll see you at home.”

She was about to head back to the hallway and walk out the door, but stopped and turned back to face Bellamy, who was still standing there with arms crossed and a tense expression clouding his face.

“And _you_ can relax. There is no way in hell that this is happening.”

With that Clarke turned around, and finally left the apartment. As she heard the door close, she finally took a moment to stop, and leaned against the wall of the hallway. Bellamy may have been a total ass, but he was right about one thing. Without a roommate, and without a plan, she was fucked.


	5. Reconsiderations

The lunch bell rang giving Bellamy the signal that it was time he wrapped up his lecture. “Alright, that concludes our discussion on the Dark Ages. I want you to read Chapter 4, “Archaic Greece”, and start thinking about how the structure of the polis differed from anything seen in Greece before.” 

He was met with blank stares, and he knew none of them would do the readings unless they were given incentive. “Hint,” he deadpanned, “It’ll be on the quiz next week.”

“What chapter was that again sir?”

And there it was. A flurry of notebooks re opened as the students started to pen the information down in their planners. He repeated his instructions and jotted the exact page numbers down on the board, underlining a couple key ideas: “polis”, “phalanx”, and “Greek citizenship”. 

Once they were done, the students shuffled out of his room, leaving him alone. This class was his last for the day, so he packed up his books, and laptop bag and headed out the door, making his way down the hall to the humanities staff room. Bellamy taught 4 different classes at Seattle Prep: Freshman US History, AP European, and AP World History, and finally his favorite, the one that had just ended: History of the Ancient Greek and Roman World. He’d always had a soft spot for Classical History. 

He entered the staff room, dropping his bag on the round table and grabbing an apple from the basket. He walked over to the bulletin board where he’d posted a flyer advertising for a new roommate, and checked to see if there had been anymore names added to the “contact me” list. He huffed in disappointment when he saw there were none. He’d known posting a listing around the school would have been pointless, most of the other professors and teachers were all twenty years his seniors – there’d been a fat chance they would have been looking for roommates. 

He sank down on the old sofa in the corner of the room, and bit into the fruit. He checked his watch and saw that it was still only 12:05 – Bellamy had another good half hour until he was supposed to meet Octavia at “the Ark” for lunch. He took a few more bites and threw the apple into the trash across the room, and smiled smugly to himself when it landed. He still got it. 

Bellamy decided he might as well be productive with his time and get a head start on marking his freshman quizzes. He reached into his bag to pull them out, when he was interrupted by a deep voice coming from the other side of the room. 

“Nice shot Blake.”

Bellamy’s heart jumped a little, just from the shock. He looked up to see Professor Martin peering at him from atop a book. The man was the schools best and oldest English teacher, and you never found him too far away from a battered copy of Dickens. 

“Uhh, thank you Martin?”

Bellamy turned back to his papers, expecting the conversation between the two to have ended, but he was surprised to see the old man move from his spot to plop right down next to Bellamy on the couch. 

“Say Blake, you still looking for one of those roommates?”

“Yes, I am.”

Martin shifted uncomfortably closer, and Bellamy thought he could smell the faintest trace of something on his breath, but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

“You know, I know some people who are looking for a place.”

Bellamy was skeptical, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but feel hesitantly optimistic. 

“You do?’

Martin nodded, “Mmhm yes, I was talking to one of my suppliers and he’s really in a bind, could use a place to crash.” 

Bellamy leaned back slightly and raised an eyebrow, “Suppliers?”

Martin looked shiftily to the side, left and right. “You know. For the marijuana.” 

And that explained the smell. Great. So now Bellamy’s future living prospects included shacking up with a drug dealer. Fantastic. 

Bellamy got up from the couch, shoved the papers into his bag and tossed it over his shoulder. 

“That’s uh, great Martin thanks, and I’ll consider that for sure…”

Martin stared at him blankly, the man reminded him of a wise owl, or as Bellamy now pieced together, a stoned one. “Please do, please do.” With that, the professor stuck his nose back into his book and Bellamy bolted out of the staff room.

Because he was running so early, Bellamy decided to walk to the Ark instead of bussing it. It was a crisp fall day in Seattle, and by some miracle it actually wasn’t raining. He figured he should probably make the most of it. 

Fifteen minutes later he rounded the corner and Octavia’s café came into view. For a location right in the heart of downtown, the place never ceased to remind him of somewhere quaint. It was almost like a little piece of small town right in the heart of the city. The café was located on the ground floor of one of Seattle’s old brownstones, and even though it was nothing like where he and O had grown up, it somehow managed to remind him of home. 

He opened the door and entered, the café was abuzz with people – all coming in for the lunchtime rush. He scanned the chaotic scene for Octavia, but she was nowhere to be found. Bellamy grumbled to himself, and started pushing through the line of people crowding the entrance. The Ark was divided into three separate sections – the café and eatery, which if he was being honest, served some of the best bagels in town. Then there was the live lounge; O was always featuring some local bands there three times a week. On the other nights it was considered an “open mic” and anyone with the balls to do it could go up there and sing. 

“Up here, Bell!” 

Bellamy craned his neck up and saw O leaning over the banister and waving to him. He got to the back of the café area and took the stairs that lead up to the “book nook”. It was basically just a small cranny with over stacked shelves and a couple of sofas and chairs, but Bellamy could spend hours up there. It was like O ran her own little library, and the only rules were if you wanted to take or loan any of the books, you had to bring one in yourself, but after that your options were unlimited. 

He finally reached the top step. The area was empty except for O who was struggling to stuff a book into one of the already over cramped shelves. Bellamy took it from her and put it onto a higher one, out of her reach, but at least it was emptier. 

“Thanks Bell” Octavia said panting and slightly out of breath. 

“You know you should really invest in some more shelves up here.”

Octavia gave him a patronizing glare. “I’ll add it to the list of everything else that I need to fix up around here”, she said with a huff, and plopping down onto the sofa. Bellamy could see that she was exhausted, running the Ark wasn’t exactly a piece of cake and mornings were usually her busiest times until the nights. 

“Am I late or are you early?” 

Bellamy sat down in an armchair across from her.

“Early.”

“Well that’s a nice change”, Octavia stretched her arm out to grab a giant mug of coffee that was teetering on one of the shelves above her head.

“So big brother, how goes the roommate hunt? Did you meet Alex?”

Bellamy groaned. Octavia had posted up some of his fliers around the café and texted a few of her “friends” that she thought might be looking for a place. So far Bellamy had met with six different guys – all loud and all musicians, not exactly his idea of a perfect roommate. 

“Oh I met Alex”, Bellamy said.

Octavia put the mug down and threw her hands up, “I know what the voice means. Alright spit it out, what was wrong with this one.”

“Nothing, nothing, except for the fact that he wanted to know if I was ‘cool’ with him brining over the ‘guys’ for a ‘jam sesh.’”

Octavia raised her brow, “You really need to lay off with the air quotes.” 

Bellamy continued, “Also, he’s 19. I’m not living with a child.”

His sister sighed in exasperation, “Bellamy, it’s already Thursday. You’ve turned down every single person I’ve sent your way. No offense, but if you need a roommate as bad as you say you do, you can’t afford to be picky.”

“I’m not ‘picky’.”

“You’re doing it again!”

“Shut up”, Bellamy mumbled under his breath. “Look, I don’t see what’s wrong with wanting a decent roommate. Someone who’s not a musician, or a drug dealer.”

Octavia shook her head, “Wow, wait, I didn’t send you any drug dealers.”

“I know, but old Dr. Martin on the other hand kindly offered to put me into contact with some.” 

Octavia frowned, “You and Lincoln work at such a weird place.”

“Tell me about it. Anyways, I just want someone who’s clean, quiet, considerate, and who I won’t need to worry about burning my place down. Is that too much to ask for?”

Octavia smiled at him knowingly. 

“What’s with the face?” 

“You know who’s all of those things?”

Bellamy knew exactly what she was going to say.

“Clarke!” She finished dramatically.  
Bellamy groaned and rubbed his hand through his hair, even though he knew that for once, Octavia was actually right. He’d been thinking about Clarke ever since Friday, and he knew he’d acted like a complete asshole. He totally gone off on her and snapped, and his outburst definitely was not something he was proud of. No matter how pissed he’d been at Lincoln and Octavia, or how annoyed he was at her whole entitled routine, she still hadn’t deserved that. No one would have. 

“You were a real dick to her last Friday Bellamy.”

He sighed, “I know that.” 

He swallowed and continued, “So, I’m guessing the Princess hasn’t had any luck working something out either?”

Guilt flashed across his sister’s face, “No, not that I know of. I’ve barely seen her this week. Between house hunting and the hospital, she’s been working herself dry. I really don’t know what she’s going to do.”

Her face turned more serious before she continued, “Look Bell, maybe you just need to suck up your pride and call her. The two of you don’t have to live together forever, it’s just until she gets back on her feet. I feel so guilty about all of this, about what Lincoln and I are doing to the two of you.”

She flashed him her best puppy dog eyes, “Please Bellamy? Please reconsider? Say you’ll help her… for me?”

His stomach churned, and he tried his best to stay stoic and resist, but Bellamy knew that there was no way he was getting out of this one. At the end of the day, no matter how angry he’d been at her, Octavia was still his little sister. She was his only family, and he would do anything for her. Even living with Clarke Griffin. 

“I guess since it’s either her or one of your delinquent friends….”

“Oh my god, Bellamy, thank you!” Octavia screamed. 

“Don’t get to excited yet O, I seriously doubt that she’s going to be thrilled about this, especially after the way we left things.”

Octavia nodded, “Yeah, way to go with that one. Well, the first step is going to be an apology.”

Bellamy felt his stomach drop, “An apology?”

“Mmhm, usually they go something along the lines of ‘I’m sorry I stole your mail’ or in your case, ‘I’m sorry I’m an asshole’.” 

He glared at her, “Thanks for the explanation.” 

Octavia fished her phone out from her pocket and handed it to him.

“What am I supposed to do with this?”

She rolled her eyes, “Call her and apologize, then throw in something along the lines of you would be more than happy to have her move in with you.”

Bellamy wasn’t happy about this. In fact he was absolutely dreading it, but Octavia had a point. Besides, if Clarke was actually as much of a workaholic as O made her sound, maybe Bellamy would even be able to tolerate her… for a while. 

“Fine. But minus the happy part.” 

Octavia shrugged, “It was worth a shot.”

Bellamy stared at the phone in his hands. The number was already dialed in so all he had to do was press call. His palms started to sweat, and he mentally kicked himself for being so pathetic. He had no reason to be nervous, absolutely none. He was only calling someone who he was pretty sure completely hated his guts, no reason to be scared about that. 

“Oh my god Bellamy, just do it.” 

He breathed in heavily, and pressed his finger to the call button. Now all he had to do was wait.


	6. Running Out of Options

“Rise and shine, Griffin!”

Clarke jolted awake from her dreamless sleep and let out a groan. God she hated being on call. She’d spent her entire night in the emergency room, wiping off vomit and checking temperatures, trying to deal with screaming kids, and even worse, their panicked parents. At 4 AM she’d finally stumbled her way to the on call room and collapsed onto the cot, every bone in her body aching from being up on her feet all day and night.

She groaned again, and flailed her arm out – haphazardly searching for her phone on the small table beside her. The brightness of the screen made her eyes burn. 8:05 AM. 4 hours. How had it already been four hours? She felt like she’d only shut her eyes seconds ago. Her exhaustion had barely subsided, and she could already feel herself slipping back to sleep, her eyelids drooping beyond her control. She was so out of it that she’d completely forgotten about the unwelcome guest, leaning against the wall across from her bed.

Murphy ripped the blanket off of her, and she silently thanked herself for having the brains to sleep in her scrubs.

“Come on Sleeping Beauty, ye old rectal exams await.”

Internally, she punched him. She spent a lot of her mental energy internally punching John Murphy – it was a coping strategy she’d come up with orientation week. It saved her the actual physical exertion of socking him in the face. Sometimes she even got creative with it, trading in her fist for a baseball bat, or a shovel. The shovel was a fun one.

Clarke finally forced herself into a sitting position, stretching her arms out and letting out a monster of a yawn.

“You look like a mess by the way, you really should do something about that hair.”

Clarke flashed Murphy a murderous glare, although in her current state she was pretty sure she just looked like she was just squinting.

“Murphy, shut up, or you’ll be the one needing a rectal exam.”

Murphy let out a dramatic yawn, “Your empty threats bore me. Now get up, you’re already making us late for rounds.”

Oh god, rounds. “Shit!” In her early morning haze she hadn’t even realized they started 20 minutes ago.

“Dammit Murphy, why didn’t you wake me up sooner?”

Clarke jumped out of bed, threw her phone in her pocket, grabbed her lab coat and bolted out the door, Murphy trailing behind her. She was struggling to get both sleeves in the armholes while he kept droning on and on.

  
“ _Thank you Murphy_ , for saving my ass. _Thank you Murphy_ , for not letting me sleep until noon. _Thank you Murphy._.. “

It was way too early in the morning for this. “I get it! I get it!” She needed a coffee, ASAP. They made their way down the hall past the nurse’s station. She spied two to go cups of coffee just sitting on the desk, and her heart pined for them. Just as her eyes were staring at them longingly, Murphy’s arms cut across her vision, and he swiped them from the desk.

She slapped his arm.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Put those back.”

“No can do, Griffin.” He said, as he proceeded to take a swig from the cup. “Ah,” he sighed, “Still hot.”

“Murphy, you can’t just go around taking people’s coffees.”

He stretched the other cup out to her enticingly, “You know you want it.”

Clarke’s mouth watered. Dammit he was right, she did want it. But even if she was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open, she did still have some sense of a moral compass. Coffee, of all things, demands respect.

She took the cup from him and backtracked quickly to the desk and put it back before anyone saw her. Then she caught up with Murphy who was shaking his head in disapproval.

“Boo, you’re no fun.”

“No, I’m just not a criminal.”

“Touché, Griffin. Touché. “

They rounded the corner into the surgical wing, passing Kane’s empty office. Clarke felt her stomach drop. Even though they were late, a part of her had still been hoping maybe Dr. Kane had gotten a late start to the morning too. By now she should have known better than to engage in wishful thinking.

Murphy continued, “Well, you know what they say about old habits.”

Clarke knew Murphy was referring to the time he’d spent in Juvie, back when he was still in highschool. He’d told her the last night of orientation, back in May, when they’d found out that they’d been partnered together as Dr. Kane’s residents. The hospital had recently changed their policy, and instead of having one large class of 16 residents, they’d broken them down into groups of 2 – each pair being put under the supervision of one attending. Murphy would definitely have not been her first choice of partner. He was surly, rude, and every other word out of his mouth made her want to strangle him. But she’d sucked it up and took it like a champ, or so she told herself at least.

After the news broke, he took her out to the bar where he’d gotten wasted out of his mind and decided to share his life story. Clarke had stuck with water, and listened to the two hour long saga of John Murphy, the stereotypical bad boy with a chip on his shoulder and a knack for stealing. He’d been orphaned by the age of eleven, and had spent the rest of his teen years jumping from foster home to foster home, struggling to stay off the streets. Eventually he’d landed himself in Juvie, but gotten out after four months. The story got blurry after that point, but from what Clarke could make out, his last foster home had been his best. That family had actually tried to understand him, take care of him, and after a little while he turned his life around. Even though he was a pain in her ass, even Clarke had to admit, it was pretty inspirational. But clearly, some habits were still hard to break.

“You should try harder to break them,” she chided.

“Not my style. Anyways, how’s the house hunting, roommate search, total living mess extravaganza going?

Clarke groaned, “Don’t even ask.”

It was Thursday now, and after spending the weekend stewing in self pity, Clarke had come to work on Monday with a plan. She’d posted flyers all over the hospital, in all the staff lounges, advertising for a new roommate. She was pretty sure she’d come off as desperate, but who was she kidding? That’s exactly what she was. She’d spent a good hour making them, and another printing them all out, and they’d gotten her exactly nowhere. Zero responses. Apparently she was the only damn person in all of Seattle without a roommate.

So, when that failed, she’d turned her attention elsewhere, and decided to go apartment hunting. She’d spent every waking hour she wasn’t working glued to her computer screen, searching for places all over the city. She tried to find ones downtown, close to the hospital at least, but everything was way out of her price range. The only place she’d found that she could actually afford on her own was a tiny one bedroom, a 20-minute bus ride from the hospital. She called in sick yesterday morning and had gone to see it before work. The tiny, she could deal with. The kitchen that doubled as a living room and bedroom, she could deal with. The “minor cockroach problem” on the other hand, that was where she drew the line.

She was getting more and more screwed by the minute. Octavia was moving out tomorrow and the lease was up by Monday. If she didn’t come up with something fast not only would she not have a roommate, but she would quite literally be homeless too.

“No luck huh?”

She was about the respond with a curt ‘What do you think’, when her train of thought was stopped by an unmistakable shout in the distance.

“Griffin! Murphy!”

Murphy muttered what sounded like a prayer under his breath.

The two of them stopped in their tracks, and Dr. Kane approached them, clipboard in hand and incredibly pissed expression in place.

“Tell me”, he said, “Are you two blind, or just incompetent?”

“Sir?” Murphy stammered. He wasn’t scared of a lot, but apparently even he couldn’t help but feel 3 ft tall next to Kane. Clarke felt her own palms start to sweat and anxiety course through her body.

“Time John. Can you tell it? Or do you just choose to ignore it?”

“Apologies, Sir. I was just running late because I had to wake up Sleeping Beauty over here.” Clarke felt Murphy pat her on the head, “Poor thing, just overslept.”

That little snitch! Clarke opened her mouth to say something, but again, Kane cut her off.

“You know what, never mind. I don’t want to hear it, you’ve already wasted enough of my time this morning.” He walked them over to the other nurses’ station and grabbed two piles of folders on the desk. He thrust one of each into their arms.

“You”, he pointed to Murphy, “Take care of my post-ops.” “And you,” he said fixing his gaze onto Clarke, “I want all these pre-ops taken care of by lunch. I have surgery at 2, so if the two of you want to scrub in on that, I suggest you make haste.”

“At least there’s no rectal exams,” Murphy whispered under his breath.

Dr. Kane glared at him and turned to walk away before stopping and facing them once more, “A word of advice Dr. Griffin, learn how to set an alarm.”

Clarke felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment. Murphy smirked.

“And Dr. Murphy, no one likes a tattle tale. I suggest you find a more productive way of getting my attention.”

With that he walked away, leaving Murphy and Clarke alone in the hall. Clarke turned to Murphy who, to her satisfaction, was wearing a look of pure shock on his face. She slammed him in the arm with her file folder.

“Ow! Jesus!”

“That’s for selling me out, asshole!”

Murphy smirked and walked away from her backwards, hands raised in defense. “Every man for himself Griffin! See you at lunch!”

She watched him walk away, getting in a good three mental face punches. Those made her feel better. Clarke clutched her folders underneath her arm, and set out for the pre – op wing. She was already worn out, but too bad for her; the day had only just begun.

* * *

 

She collapsed into her chair at lunch, resting her tray on the cafeteria table across from Murphy who was already halfway through a pizza. Clarke had ordered the same. She usually opted for a salad, but decided to say screw it, this was her week from hell – she deserved a damn pizza. In fact she’d been saying screw it all week… her ass would not be thanking her for that one.

She grabbed her coffee, and relished in the warm tingle it brought to her tongue. She’d been waiting all morning for this moment, and oh was it worth it. She chugged it until it was halfway done, letting out a satisfied “Ahh”.

“You know, you wouldn’t be feeling so dead right now if you’d just taken the coffee I gave you this morning.”

Clarke glared, “You can keep your contraband coffee to yourself thank you very much.”

“Don’t say I didn’t offer. So, we didn’t finish our talk earlier. You homeless yet?”

She sighed. “No not yet, but I might as well be. Why is it so hard to find a place in this city?”

“Real estate markets, the economy, the inevitable extinction of all our first world comforts”, Murphy answered.

She lowered her brows and stared at him, “That was a rhetorical question, you know what never mind.” Clarke didn’t even know why she tried with him.

Murphy took a sip of his water and stretched his legs out, “Well, looks like you’re screwed.”

“Gee, you sound so sympathetic, thanks”, she said with mock sincerity.

He was right though. She was absolutely screwed. She was supposed to go see another place this afternoon, but had cancelled so she could scrub in with Kane. If there was anything she’d learnt these past 4 months was that any missed opportunity, was a wasted one – something she could not afford, not if she wanted to keep her job.

She sighed and went to take another sip of her coffee.

“You know you could always move in with me.”  
Clarke choked. She pushed her chair back and keeled over, coughing uncontrollably. She knew she was getting stares, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She kept coughing, until she could finally breathe in air normally, gulping it in with wheezing gasps.

Murphy just continued to sit there, staring at her unimpressed. “What are you, four years old? Can’t you drink without almost dying?”

Clarke shook her head. She had to have imagined that. There’s no way Murphy had just offered to let her live with him. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?”

“Well, I just insulted you. It’s ok, you’re slow today, and you might have missed it. Here let me repeat it for you…”

She rolled her eyes, “Murphy! Shut up! The other thing jackass.”

“Now, now, is that really how you want to speak to someone who just offered to save you from a life of destitution on the streets?”

So she had heard correctly.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

Murphy shrugged, “What? Would you rather be homeless or live in the on call room?”

“Yes!” Clarke cried. She really would rather live in the on call room. Murphy may be her closest acquaintance at work, but that was only because they spent every breathing moment in the hospital together. She tolerated him, just so she wouldn’t go insane, but imagining living with him, seeing him outside of work, every single day - the thought made her cringe. She’d rather stick with the roaches.

Murphy sneered and continued with sarcastic enthusiasm, “We could braid each other’s hair, make cookies, paint our nails!”

He trailed on and on while Clarke put her head in her hands in exasperation. Thankfully, by some miracle her phone started ringing, Octavia was calling her and giving her an excuse to get the hell out of that conversation.

“And watch Frozen, and Gossip Girl…”

“Leaving now”, Clarke snapped as she left the table.

She walked to the quiet corner of the cafeteria and answered the call.

“Hey O, what’s up?”

She heard a deep cough on the other side of the line, and a voice that was definitely not Octavia’s.

“It’s uhh, it’s Bellamy actually.”

Clarke thought back to her last conversation with the older Blake, and her annoyance at Murphy was immediately channeled onto him.

“What do you want Bellamy?” She snapped, “I’m at work, I’m busy.”

There was a pause. “If you’re so busy then why are you picking up your phone? Aren’t you supposed to be saving lives?”

He was absolutely insufferable. “Well, I assumed, that since Octavia knows I’m at work, she would only be calling in the case of an emergency! Silly me, what a futile assumption to make.”

She heard him chuckle, “Alright, take it easy.”

Clarke sighed, “Again, I repeat, is there something you want Bellamy? Is O ok?”

His voice returned to his original seriousness, “Yeah, O’s fine. Look, I’m calling to… I’m calling to apologize.”

Well this was unexpected. “Apologize?” Clarke asked skeptically.

“That’s what I said. I may have been a bit out of line on Friday.”

Clarke scoffed, “A bit?”

“Are you through? Can I continue, or are you planning on interrupting me after every sentence?”

“Fine, go on.”

“Look, I was out of line. A lot. I shouldn’t have said all those things… let’s just call it the heat of the moment?”

Clarke stayed silent.

“Hello?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, do I have permission to speak now?”

Clarke could hear Bellamy grumble under his breath, and she thought she could make out Octavia’s voice in the background. She felt a sense of satisfaction knowing she threw him off.

“Bellamy, it’s fine. It was an emotional night, I’ve already forgotten about it.” She hadn’t, but he didn’t need to know that. She had enough on her plate right now; she didn’t need any more problems.

“Ok.”

She looked over at Murphy, who was eyeing her coffee with malicious intent. Clarke swore if he even dared to take a sip… they were going to have problems.

“Ok. Well, I wasn’t lying before. I really am busy, so is that all?”

She could hear Octavia egging him on in the background. “No actually.” He sighed before continuing, almost like the words were physically painful for him to say.

“Look, Octavia told me you haven’t found a place yet, or a roommate. Suffice it to say, I haven’t had any luck either.”

“So?”

“So what I’m trying to say is, is that maybe I was being to rash before. You need a place to stay, and I need a roommate. The offer’s open… that is if you still need to take it?”

Clarke looked over at Murphy who not only had taken her coffee for himself, but also, was already making his way into her second slice of pizza. She weighed her options. At this point she could either be homeless, live in the on call room, or shack up with Murphy. Bellamy Blake was just about the last person whose help she wanted to admit she needed, but at this point, it was looking like her only choice. She was sure there were other apartments she could find in Seattle, but the thing was, at this point she just didn’t have time to look for them. His place didn’t have roaches, was clean from what she saw, and at least she would still be 5 minutes from work. Her anger at him had faded, and she was forced to realize that at the end of the day, maybe this was her best bet?

"If I say yes… it’s only because I’m desperate.”

“Of course.”

“And have no other options”, she continued.

“Ok.”

“And it’s only temporary…?”

“Unless you want to be stuck with me forever, then yes Princess, it’s only temporary.”

She breathed in heavily. Oh god, she could not believe she was doing this.

“So… is that a yes?”

Something told her she was going to regret this.

“Yes.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right this is all I've got time to post now! I hope you guys enjoy and I'd love to hear what you think! So far I've got 18 chapters written so at some point the rest will be posted :)

**Author's Note:**

> So I've decided to transfer the modern AU I've been working on for the past year over on FF.net (under AelinGreywaren) over here. I'll be uploading the chapters over gradually, but hope to get at least a few up today! This is definitely a slow burn AU, like the slowest of slow burns, because apparently I'm a masochist. It's got your typical enemies, to reluctant friends, to something more Bellarke progression, featuring my favourite sass king John Murphy.


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